Happy May Day!

May Day is International Worker’s Day and this year The Public Studio (run by fabulous Shameless editorial director Sheila Sampath) has released a creative commons poster with a theme of worker’s being the beating hearts of our cities. Here’s more from The Public Studio:

“Working people are the beating heart of our economies; they produce everything that we need and use, and are the driving force that keeps us strong. May Day, or International Workers Day, is a global day of action celebrating workers and the ongoing struggle to improve their lives.
The history of May Day dates back to 1886, when hundreds of thousands of workers across North America mobilized for a one-day strike, demanding an eight-hour working day. As tensions grew, demonstrators in Chicago’s Haymarket Square were met with police violence. Later, labour activists and known anarchists were targeted and hanged for their dissent. In 1889, May Day was declared an international day of solidarity, to honour the lives of the Haymarket Martyrs and demand better working conditions for all working people.
In Toronto, local community groups like No One is Illegal, May First Movement, Migrante and other labour and migrant justice advocacy groups continue to fuel this movement, organizing rallies and actions to honour and advocate for all working people, regardless of status, race, gender and (dis)ability.
This poster is a part of our ongoing people’s history series. Click to download a printable PDF, or add your own text to an editable word document. If you’re interested in purchasing a limited edition hand-printed poster, please email us.”

Download it, print it, post it online or on the streets!

Whatever you do today take a second to reflect on how we’re all workers in so many different ways: whether it’s in the office, at home, at school, we all work in different capacities. May Day is a day to strive for worker’s rights and justice and it effects us all. For more info on May Day, check out this write-up on the day’s history published by rabble.